


Timetables

by Cookies_and_Chaos



Category: The A Word (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Canon Autistic Character, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos
Summary: When Mark gets home from his afternoon looking after Joe, his mum is waiting with a few questions. Following the events of Season 3, Episode 5.
Kudos: 4





	Timetables

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warning: Ableism

Mark pushed the door shut firmly and twisted the key until he felt the familiar clunk of the lock setting across. He thought about undoing it again just to repeat it, familiarity was reassuring. That's why Joe still opened and closed doors three times when he was anxious.

"Hi love", Sophie, his mother, interrupted him before he could make a decision and he left the door alone.

"Hello", he went over to the speakers and plugged his phone in to put some music on.

"Paul called", Sophie said, "did Joe behave himself then?"

Mark thought that was an odd question, Joe was not known to misbehave. Perhaps she was thinking about that one time when Joe was five and he walked off by himself. But that wasn't misbehaving. That was just confusion about a world not built for Joe. Or Mark. 

"Joe and I ate sandwiches. We talked about music and circle bread. He was well behaved", Mark put the first playlist on and adjusted the volume so it was just loud enough.

Mark sat on the sofa and listened to the music for a few minutes, his mother sat down on the armchair and this - sitting quietly and listening to music - was familiar too.

"I know you know about buses running off timetable, Mark", Sophie said when the song changed to a quieter one.

Mark shuffled his feet and looked away, towards the window at the back of the room. 

"The timetable is a guideline. Sometimes buses cannot be completely on schedule because humans drive them", Mark said and he rolled his shoulders and sank back into the sofa. He wanted to make himself smaller, just for a little while. That was impossible of course. Men who were over six feet tall couldn't make themselves small.

"Like I said, I know you know. So I find myself wondering why my Mark, who knows how to solve all sorts of transport problems, didn't get on the bus with Joe when it was running early", Sophie moved to sit beside him on the sofa.

Mark didn't want to tell her. He wished he'd never offered to look after Joe. Then Paul would never had called because they would never have not gone to the farm. 

"Sometimes, we let something small get in our way so we can avoid something else", Sophie suggested.

"Indeed", Mark admitted and, after a moment, he continued, "If Joe and I went to the farm, maybe Paul would have found something worse to be focused on. Maybe Joe would have gotten a headache, or tripped and hurt his knee. It would be normal for that to happen but Paul would have said, I knew I shouldn't have let Mark look after Joe".

"But...", his mother added after Mark had been silent for a while, "if you and Joe went to Joe's house because the bus was early and you pretended you thought it was the wrong bus, then it would be a small mistake that Paul would laugh about".

Mark made a hum of agreement and fiddled with his hands.

"It's difficult letting someone else look after your child", Sophie said, "and you weren't answering your phone".

"Do you think he would have gone looking if it had been Tom who took Joe to the farm, even if he hadn't answered his phone?", Mark asked, rocking forward and sitting up straighter, "would he have text Tom eight times and called him twice less than twenty minutes after they left?"

Sophie sighed and shook her head, "No I don't think he would have".

"It's time to start making dinner", Mark stood up and headed towards the kitchen, then paused and turned back to his mother, "I did want to go to the farm and so did Joe, so that is a shame".

"You're right", Sophie said, "It is, all of it is a shame".


End file.
